Cleveland Cavaliers: Trading for Carmelo Anthony is likely the next move

Possible Options

Take Denver, for example. The Knicks would kill to have a player like Gary Harris on their roster. The Nuggets would likewise move heaven and earth (editor’s note: Nikola Jokic is not of this world) for a legit, 28 year old NBA star. If it took Harris and, say, Wilson Chandler to get the deal done, they’d do it in a heartbeat, even if they had to take back Iman Shumpert’s contract in the deal.

The Cavs get Melo, plus a player in Chandler who could absolutely make a difference in a series against the Warriors. Everybody wins.

Would that Cavs give Luol Deng another spin? Don’t laugh. He’s four years younger than Richard Jefferson, who got extended minutes guarding Kevin Durant in this series. Deng would offer even more defensive versatility against KD. The Knicks would get D’Angelo Russell, with the Lakers taking on Frye and Shumpert, two seemingly expendable players (Shump played 3:45 in Game 5, while Frye hardly saw the court n the last two rounds of the playoffs).

Phoenix may have an opportunity to draft Lonzo Ball. If so, they could conceivable send out Eric Bledsoe in a Love trade, take back Shump and Frye, and flip a few of their young lottery tickets plus one of their upcoming Miami picks to the Knicks. Bledsoe would finally give the Cavs the ability to play small on a level at least close to Golden State.

Portland has three first rounders in the upcoming daft, plus Moe Harkless – exactly he type of three and D wing the Cavs need. Portland would jump at the chance to add Love to the McCollum/Lillard core, and the Knicks can walk away from draft night filling out a third of their roster with first round talent.